ESL straffer Lynn Vision og lader Virtus.pro gå fri
Det er ikke lang tid siden, at Valve bad ESL rette i deres regelbog for at gøre det klart, hvornår og hvordan turneringsarrangøren kunne straffe hold, hvis de trak sig fra et ESL-event i utide.
Og nu er det altså blevet relevant, da både Lynn Vision og Virtus.pro ikke dukkede op til ESL Pro League Season 22 med kort varsel.
Begge hold oplevede problemer, da de forsøgte at rejse til Sverige, men udfaldet og straffen er vidt forskellig. Det forklarer ESL i en pressemeddelelse på deres hjemmeside.
Flere af Lynn Visions spilleres visa var udløbet, og de kunne derfor ikke checke ind til deres flytur. Organisationen havde løbende bekræftet til ESL, at der ikke var nogen problemer med visa. Selv hvis det var en ubevidst fejl, så er det uacceptabelt, og Lynn Vision udstedes en straf på et ban fra ESL's næste tier 1-event, som holdet opnår en invitation til. ESL's næste tier 1-event er ESL Kraków. Alt dette skriver ESL.
Historien er en anden for Virtus.pro, der havde papirarbejdet i orden, og alligevel blev to spillere afvist at komme ind i Sverige. Det betegner ESL som en "visa complication under our exceptional circumstances clause", og derfor bliver Virtus.pro ikke straffet med et en udelukkelse fra ESL's næste tier 1-event.
Begge organisationer skal dog betale for ESL's omkostninger i forbindelse med at sørge for holdenes erstatninger i ESL Pro League Season 22: ENCE og Gentle Mates.
Den gældende regel fra ESLs regelbog:
2.14.1 Withdrawing from the event
Participants are considered to have withdrawn from the event if they leave during the ongoing stage, between the two stages of the event, including its qualifying stage (e.g., qualifier and main event), or if they leave after accepting the invitation. In such cases, the participants will forfeit all prize money accumulated for the event and will be penalised with a ban from the next event of the same tier (e.g. if a team withdraws from a Tier 1 event, they will be banned from the next Tier 1 event they would have been invited to). The team that withdraws will also be fined to cover the cost of their replacement (including, but not limited to, flight expenses for the replacement team and any additional costs incurred). If ESL is unable to find a replacement, the original matches assigned to the team will be forfeited.
Additionally, in exceptional cases, tournament administration will waive penalties in the event of a medical emergency or visa complications. To qualify for an exemption:
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For medical emergencies, the team must provide a letter from a licensed doctor explicitly stating that the participant is unable to travel to the event.
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For visa complications, the team must provide official documentation confirming that the visa was denied for reasons outside the participant’s control (e.g., not due to an incorrectly submitted or incomplete application).
